Features

By Ariana Renteria After a constant struggle with gang involvement, East Los Angeles native Caesar Aguila has succeeded in turning his life around. “My mom was always on top of me. But every teenager wants to do their own thing, always wants to do the opposite of what their parents want them to do,” said Aguila. Growing up without a father figure, Aguila was the youngest of five boys and one…

By Megan Perry Adored and admired poet and teacher, Carol Lem, died of cancer February 11, leaving her mark on East Los Angeles College and in the Los Angeles literary world. She was a petite woman who stood approximately five feet tall, but her power and influence were gigantic. “I always admired that somebody who was not at all physically intimidating carried her weight and got her way out there,” said…

By Christina Rocha A person becomes a teacher because they care about students as human beings who crave to learn. Jeffrey Hernandez is the vice chair for the Political Science Department. His duty as vice chair is to be a facilitator for the political science instructors and to also supervise part-time political science teachers. Hernandez taught at East Los Angeles College part-time before he heard about an open full-time position…

By Tadzio Garcia A popular horror movie prompted former East Los Angeles College student and track coach, Jason Tena-Encarnación, to take the first step towards helping underprivileged youth. “The plot about A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, was about kids being killed off one by one for something their parents did. The kids didn’t create the circumstances of their death but the kids had to deal with the…

By Anna Ortega Contributing Writer Filled with passion and experience, Joyce Garcia is the bookstore manager and the new manager at the Husky Store. Garcia has been the bookstore manager for the last three and a half years. She loves to work with students. They are her passion, and to be able to help them is her pride. She became the cafeteria manager six months ago when the ex-manager, Christina Gaytan…

By Thy Lam Providing a sense of family by helping Vietnamese students connect with other students from their homeland is what the Vietnam Student Association hopes to accomplish. The group was established three years ago as a study group and then began to share experiences about learning, cultures and lifestyles. After gathering for some months, they felt the need of an official association for Vietnamese students. The purpose of VSA’s establishment is…

By Jane Fernandez East Los Angeles College does not only educate adults but also children through the Child Development Center. The Child Development Center first opened its doors at ELAC in February 1975. At the time, it was a single bungalow and provided service to 11 families, many of whom were single mothers. In 1977, the center opened a second bungalow and it kept it that way until 1990, when a proposal…

By Frank Chavez Determined to not fit the stereotype of a disabled man or woman, Rodger Hernandez never allowed his condition of cerebral palsy to get in his way of achieving his goals. Hernandez was born in the city of Culiacan, Sinaloa in Mexico. However, when he was one-year old his parents made the choice of migrating to the United States for a better life. Hernandez, born on Nov. 3,…

By Cristina Galvan Lizbeth Gutierrez does not let her disabilities get in the way. She uses her faith to stay strong and help others. Twenty-two-year-old Gutierrez was born with cerebral palsy. Growing up, one of the hardest things she had to endure was being told by others that she could not do certain things, because she has a disability. This constant put down led Gutierrez to fall into a depression that…

By Kritsida Adisakkitti Many students and faculty undermined the East Los Angeles College debate team that continuously brought home wins during the past five years. Nadar Haddad is the founder and coach of the official debate team that ELAC lacked for a 25-year period. After Haddad received his Bachelor’s Degree at California State University, Long Beach in Political Science and his Master’s Degree at University of North Texas, he was offered a…